Rake attachment.



W E. RILEY.

. RAKE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION rum) nov. 11, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

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WILLIAM E. RILEY, OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK.

RAKE ATTACHMENT.

Application filed November 11, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. RILEY, a subject of the King of England,residing at Saratoga Springs, in the county of Saratoga and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Rake Attachment, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to hand rakes and more particularly to the kindused for removing leaves and the like from lawns.

One object of the present invention is to provide a head carrying curvedteeth which will have little tendency to uproot the grass during theoperation of raking.

Another object is to provide a cleaning bar which will operate to removeall matter collected on the teeth whenever the rake is raised from theground.

A further object is to equip the head with a means for preventing theraked leaves from passing thereover during the raking operation.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully hereinafterappear, the presout invention. consists in certain novel details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes inthe form, proportion, size and minor details of the device may be madevdthout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification-Figure 1is a perspective of a rake fitted with the attachment, and showing theposition of'the cleaner at the beginning of the raking operation whenthe teeth are upon the ground. Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing thecleaner suspended.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to designate correspondingparts throughout.

In carrying out the invention, I arrange on the upper side of the head 1a series of equally spaced U shaped guards which add to the height ofthe rake, thereby making it possible to draw a larger volume of leavesand facilitate the work.

The rake teeth 2, which are curved toward the handle 3, are disposed inthe usual manner on the lower side of the head, their curved. shapebringing the pointed ends substantially parallel to the ground when thehandle Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Serial No. 462,168.

is elevated, thereby making it less diflicult for the operator to drawthe rake and also lessening the danger of the teeth uprooting the grass.The teeth are provided with a cleaning bar adapted to move vertically,and connection between the cleaning bar, and guards is established bymeans of links.

Each of the guards 4 is formed of a single piece of wire or othersuitable material, bent substantially U shaped, and the terminals ofwhich enter openings formed in the upper side of the head 1.

The number of guards employed will vary according to the length of head,and the spaces between the guards will be approximately the same as thespace between the arms of one guard.

The cleaning bar 5 formed of a single piece of sheet metal or othersuitable material is rectangular in cross section, and approxi matelythe same in length as the head 1. The bar is provided with a series ofequally spaced elongated openings of greater diameter than the diameterof the teeth. The space between the centers of any two of these openingswill be the same as that between the centers of any two teeth so thatthe bar may be placed to slide over the teeth, as shown in Figs. 1 and2.

Connections between the cleaning bar 5 and guards 4 is established bymeans of links 6. Each of these members is formed of a single piece ofsheet metal or other suitable material, slightly curved to conform tothe shape of the teeth, and adjacent either end is bent at substantiallyright angles so as to form arms 7 The lower of these arms is secured tothe lower face of the cleaning bar, while the upper is provided with anopening through which enters one arm of the guards 4.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, four supporting links areshown applied to either end and the intermediate portions of thecleaning bar, and are disposed. over the front faces of the latter andthe head 1. Thus it will be seen that when the parts are in position, asshown by Fig. 1, the cleaning bar will be supported slightly above theterminals of the teeth and as the operation of raking continues and theleaves become wedged between the teeth or impaled thereon, the cleaningbar will be gradually raised to the position shown by Fig. 2. By nowlifting the rake from the ground the weight of the bar and links will besufficient to make the same descend and thereby clean the teeth.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed is l. Thecombination of a hand rake provided With a guard on the upper side ofthe rake head, a cleaning bar slidingly mounted on the rake teeth, and asliding connection between said guard and cleaning bar.

2. The combination of a hand rake provided With a guard on the upperside of the rake head, a cleaning bar having perforations whereby it ismounted to slide vertically on the rake teeth, and a link having one endsecured to said cleaner bar and its opposite end slidingly fitted tosaid guard.

3. The combination of a hand rake provided With substantially U shapedguards on the upper side of the rake head, a cleaning bar mounted toslide vertically on the rake teeth, and links having their lower endsconnected to said cleaning bar and their upper ends slidingly fitted tothe U shaped guards.

4. The combination of a hand rake provided With spaced vertical guardson the up per side of the rake head, a cleaning bar mounted to slidevertically on the rake teeth, and links having their lower ends rigidlysecured to said cleaning bar and their upper ends slidingly fitted tosaid vertical guards.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM E. RILEY.

